Reckless ~ Tomione

Astronomy Tower

Three days. Hermione counted down the seconds anxiously as the time passed. She had visited the little shop in Hogsmeade to be fitted for her dresses, and was now in the bookstore, flipping eagerly through the pages and hoping for something to give her an answer.

After an hour of endless reading, Hermione grabbed a book with an extensive list of charms in it as an apology to the store owner. She had a small sack of coins from her purple beaded bag to pay for everything, and while there was more than enough, thanks to Harry's generosity and large vault, Hermione still felt terrible that she was using his gold. And with that, she concluded her spending and started heading back to the castle.

~

Meet now at Astronomy Tower.
D.M.

Hermione wondered how long the note had been on her bed, and if Draco was still waiting for her. It wouldn't hurt to check.

Up on the Astronomy Tower, she found the white-blonde telltale hair. He paced back and forth, unaware of her presence. Hermione cleared her throat.

"You're here," he stated. He looked calm, yet also very pissed. "Are you alone?"

"Yes...?" Hermione was confused. "What's wrong?"

"Is it true he recruited you to join the Knights?" Draco lowered his voice so as to block any eavesdroppers from hearing but it conveyed his annoyance just the same. "Hermione..."

"Yes, Walburga Black found me yesterday and proposed that I join." Hermione offered a smile. "It's what we wanted, right?"

Draco sighed and pressed his back against the wall, sliding down to a sitting position. "Perhaps, but you cannot deny that it's dangerous."

Yes, of course he was. But that's why they needed to get close to him. To find him in his youth and help him see that maybe there's something more to life. Hermione knew that he couldn't change, not with his very nature of not feeling love. She was slowly starting to believe that maybe he was meant to rise and plunder the Wizarding World, so that it may rise again. Yet, she couldn't forget her friends, every single one of them who had died in the war. And the Dark Mark that had risen above the very castle she was standing in.

"I think we should both be careful," Hermione said slowly. "You have more to lose than I back home..."

"Hermione, we're in the here and now. If you get yourself killed, a lot of people back home are going to lose someone!" Draco's voice started raising but he calmed himself. "In case you forgot, I know how to navigate him. I knew him when he was so much worse. Not to say he isn't bad right now, which is why I'm warning you to be careful!"

Hermione sighed. He was right; she really didn't know what to expect here. But waiting around for the universe to do something wasn't going to help Harry, Ron, or anyone.

"I will." Hermione sat down. "There is a meeting tonight?"

"Yes." Malfoy frowned. "Have you been invited? I didn't think he would be that quick."

"No, no, but I'm hoping Walburga wants to speed up the timeline. He likes efficiency, and she likes him, so..." she trailed off. Draco snorted.

"You can say that again. It's like he's Merlin or something, and she hangs onto his every word."

"Jealous?" Hermione smirked, then sobered. "I wonder if she knows she'll end up marrying her second cousin."

They pondered that for a moment, her more so than Malfoy. Sirius stated that his parents weren't Death Eaters, so supposedly Walburga would leave the Knights at some point. Did something happen, or was she just uninterested anymore? Then again, Sirius had said that she was proud of his brother for joining, so what then?

"Hermione Greystone?" a timid voice asked from the doorway. The pair bolted upright, both worrying the same thing. Had he heard them?

But their worries were for naught, as the boy took a few steps in their direction and held out a piece of parchment. The pair exchanged bemused looks, and Draco moved to take it.

"Thank you," Hermione told the boy, knowing Draco wouldn't bother. He had tucked it away in his pocket, and leaned back against the wall, looking completely unbothered to any untrained eye. But Hermione knew that he was tense, and that he was watching from the corner of his eye to see when the kid would leave and he was free to open it.

"I just want to say..." the boy started, "I... I really hope you do well in the next Task. I mean, not you you didn't do well in the last one but, I, uh... never mind." His cheeks were dusted with pink. Hermione froze, unsure how to respond.

"Um... thank you?" she answered. He seemed harmless enough, and was only wishing her good luck. "What's your name?"

"William Beaulieu," he muttered. "I'm from Beauxbatons."

Beauxbatons? Hermione sat up, now on edge. What could they want? But as she turned back to say something to him, he had gone.

"Aw, somebody's got a crush," Draco remarked lightly. "Muffliato."

"You're so paranoid, it could just be a note from Dumbledore, asking how we're settling in."

"Or..." Draco's eyes scanned the page. "It could be a note from the Beauxbatons Champions about the Second Task."

Hermione's stomach dipped. "What did they say?"

"They're asking if we have the answer to the Second Task riddle." Draco shook his head. "I guess they haven't figured it out either."

"What if they're faking it to get a read on the other teams?" Hermione bit her lip.

"Look at you, my little Slytherin, being all suspicious." Draco proudly patted her head. "And either way, I don't think I was planning on responding, so we'll just leave it at that."

Hermione wondered how they were doing. Were they stressing about it or relaxingly waiting to find out if the other teams were going to fail?

"So, what do we do?"

"Nothing," Draco replied and tucked the folded note back in his pocket.